Inner Self
by The Mad Hattress
Summary: This story is from Taiki's P.O.V., and deals with what her everyday school life may have been when she was younger, and on Kinmoku


Disclaimer: I don't own Sailormoon, or any other anime character.  
Rating: G  
Warnings: Shoujo-ai (Like every other fic I write ^^;)  
Author: Icy Blade   
Pairing(s): Taiki + Yaten and the slightest hint of Seiya + Taiki (not by much though)  
Legend (*sigh* AGAIN):  
"…." = Dialog  
'….' = Thoughts  
  
  
Inner Self  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
Another school day means another day of lowered self-esteem. Well, at least for me that is. My name you ask? My name is Taiki Kou, and I'm currently 13. I'm the class nerd according to the popular girls in my school. Well, at least one half of them. The other half of them are too full of their self-image to notice I exist. I have only two friends, which is highly pitiful if I may add. Their names are Hikarino Tenshi, and Seiya Kou. Seiya (We call each other by last name to save people's confusion) is the girl who constantly tries so hard to protect me from those girls, who probably think they're better then everyone else on Kinmoku, comments that cause me to sulk so much. I can't say Seiya's not popular. She is, but she's just one of the few popular girls who look at a person on the inside, not on the outside.  
  
"Watch it! Kami-sama! You have glasses, you can see where you're going!" was the sharp response when I accidentally bumped into someone. I blinked and looked down a little. This girl was small. Not a midget, just petite. She had vibrant green eyes, but her hair color was the oddest I had ever seen. Wait, I recognize this girl. She's the one who laughed when I tripped during gym class. Not that she was much better. It was once in a blue moon that she actually played. Her name is Yaten Kou if I recall correctly.  
  
"Gomen nasai, your Majesty." I replied in a sarcastic fashion. I could see visibly that my sarcasm truly pissed her off.  
  
"Just don't let me have to talk to a dork like you ever again." She glanced at Seiya who was clenching and unclenching her fists, and chewing her lip. "You know, someone as sporty, pretty, and popular like you shouldn't be hanging around people like her." Yaten motioned towards me, and that sparked rising anger inside of me. Seiya said nothing, and just glared at the small girl.  
  
"Kou-chan!" shouted a girl slightly taller than Yaten. Probably one of the many lackies Yaten has. The girl was in my class, so I recognized her immediately. Her name was Mae. She used to be a friend of mine until she was excepted into the ring of social butterflies and ditched me out of nowhere. Yaten turned away from Seiya and I, and started walking towards Mae.  
  
"Why doesn't she just stick her nose up in the air and make believe she's all that matters?" Seiya retorted and scowled. I smirked.  
  
"Seiya, why are you acting so rashly? Worried she'll steal me away?" I snickered when Seiya gave me a funny look. I walked in back of her, and start pushing gently. "Come on. We have to go to class, or else we'll be late."  
  
To say in the least, I'm regretting I got to class so early. Being it was the beginning of the school year; they switch students around from class to class. And would you believe my good luck? That Yaten girl got put into my class. And it gets better (Note my obvious sarcasm). She has to sit next to me. When her seat was assigned she said, "I can't sit there!" as if I were a plague. Ah, maybe I am. I'd laugh if sitting next to me could cause a decrease in popularity. When she finally gave up arguing with the Masamoto-sensei, she took her seat, and scooted her seat away from me as far as she could. Seiya and Tenshi shot me sympathetic looks, but I just waved them off. Later during class, I found she is the most impossible person to deal with. She wouldn't listen to anything I explained.   
Masamoto-sensei came over to our desks, and asked how we were getting along. I forced a smile and said fine, but Yaten said nothing. I felt relieved when the bell rang so we could all go to lunch. But as I was walking out, Masamoto-sensei pulled me over to the side. "Taiki-san, I want you to come with Yaten to the library after school. She needs study help, and you got everything correct. I don't want her to fail." My eyes widened.  
  
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I can't even talk to her without getting angry with her one way or another…!"   
  
"Taiki, who knows? Maybe this could get you two to be friends or something. Now go to lunch, and I'll check to see if you're there after school."   
  
I sighed. "Hai. I'll be there." I walked away to the lunch room, and practically plopped down next to Seiya.  
  
"Why so glum, eh?" she asked me. And my silence after her question made her arch an eyebrow. I realized that she wouldn't stop giving me a hard time about it until I answered her.   
  
"I have to give Yaten-san a 'study session' after school today." I muttered. Seiya's eyes widened.   
  
"NANI YO?! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PULL THAT OFF?!" she shouted. I looked around the table I sat at, only to see everyone staring at Seiya and I. Naturally I flushed bright red.   
  
"I don't know. But I have to." I got up from my seat. It was now or never, and I had to tell Yaten sometime today. Seiya's eyes widened a little more, if that was even possible, as I wanted over to where Yaten sat. I stood at the head of the table, where Yaten was seated. I swallowed hard, and tapped her shoulder. She looked up at me and scowled.  
  
"What do YOU want?"  
  
"Masamoto-sensei told me that you HAVE to come with me to the library after school, because you need study help."   
  
"Demo...!"  
  
"No. You're going, and that's final, Yaten-san." I glared, and she did nothing but glare back. One could almost feel the temperature drop between us.  
  
"Fine, I'll be there." She snapped that statement at me, more then saying it in a calm fashion. Oh well, as long as she was going. I turned to walk away, but she grabbed my wrist.  
  
Her features had softened considerably. She stood up from where she was seated. "If we're going to get anything accomplished later, then we better get on some sort of friendly level, ne?" I blinked, and nodded. Perhaps she wasn't as bad as I'd first thought. She started to practically drag me out of the lunchroom. "I suppose we could do what you and your friend 'Seiya' do. Call each other by last name. I'm Yaten, and you're Taiki. Deal?" I nodded absently. Once I looked, her hair, which wasn't kept in a ponytail like mine, made her look like an angel. Her hair color was unique. I never saw someone with silver-shaded hair before.  
  
"Yaten, may I ask you something?" I questioned her softly, and she nodded. "How did you become as popular as you are?" I didn't want to inflate her ego, or offend her, but anyone in my shoes would have asked. She stopped dragging me around the halls and sighed.  
  
"Act dumb, wear what everyone else wears, and make sure you put on a ton of make up a day." She muttered. I could have sworn I detected some sort of hidden sorrow in her words, as if she wanted to be someone else, someone more like herself. She turned her head and looked up slightly so her eyes met mine. "What's it like to get made fun of everyday?" I winced, and she bit her lip. "So you don't like it, eh…?"   
  
"How did you know? How can you see through my careless mask like that?"   
  
She smiled a smile that light up her pale face, "Empathy." That was what she said. One, simple word. "I can feel that you want to just quit everything, every time someone picks on you." My eyes widened, and she began to laugh. She knew. This girl was special if you ask me. Like the way Seiya was special for her physical strength, and the way I was special for my brain. This girl had magic, and her beautiful green eyes showed it. "You know, Taiki, if you showed your sweet side more often, people might actually like you." I smirked.   
  
"Hmmm, maybe if you showed this kind side more often, people like me would like YOU better." She didn't get offended; she just smiled even brighter. And I couldn't but smile myself. She let go of my hand, and I found myself missing her soft hand on mine. 'Stop it, Taiki, stop it. You have better things to do with your time then to even think of falling for this girl' I mentally scolded myself. She gave me a funny look for a moment before he bell rang. "I'll see you after school, Yaten."  
  
"Hai, I'll see you later, Taiki." She turned and walked away from me. I stood there and stared at her retreating back.   
  
"Not gonna steal you away, huh?" Came a voice from beside me. I looked over at Seiya, who seemed angry. I blinked, and briefly felt guilty.  
  
"What do you mean, Seiya...?" I chewed on my lip absently. I didn't want to hurt her. She's one of the best friends I could ever ask for. I heard her sigh.  
  
"Nothing, don't worry about it. Just some jealousy lurking inside of me. I don't want you getting hurt." She muttered those words, and they really did mean a lot to me, even if I didn't show it.  
  
"I won't get hurt, Seiya. I'm simply helping someone out." I explained as calmly as possible. Seiya frowned deeper. Now I'm beginning to think she's too paranoid about me. But she nodded anyway, even though I knew a mixture of jealousy, worry, and anger towards Yaten still boiled into her blood. I sighed and shrugged it off. I began walking to class with Seiya trailing behind me. I walked past Yaten, who took the time out from gabbing with her friends for a moment to smile and wave at me. I didn't bother to look back at Seiya, because I knew she was probably glaring of some sort.   
I can't say the last part of the day didn't go fast. I took my time walking to the library, because Yaten being Yaten probably ran home real quick to change into something lighter, considering the hot weather. When I finally got to the library, there she was, still in her school uniform, waiting for me with her books. "What took you so long?!" she huffed, and stomped her foot as if trying to threaten me. I lifted an eyebrow. She sighed in exasperation, grabbed my hand, dragged me into the air-conditioned library, and we both sat down. She smiled brightly, "Sweet relaxation."  
  
I glared at her. "We're here to help you. Not relax and do nothing." But couldn't help but smile when she pouted.  
  
"But I don't wanna…!" she whined to me in her most pitiful tone she could muster up. I sighed and brushed some of my long bangs out of my eyes.  
  
"Fine, but Masamoto-sensei said she'd be coming to see if we came. Just act like your studying. And when she leaves, you could do whatever you want while I do my homework, OK?" I smiled brightly when she hugged me.   
  
"Arigatou!" I shook my head and pushed her away gently. She blinked and looked up at me as if she thought she did something wrong.   
  
"So both of you really did show up. I'm very proud of you both. And don't argue, alright?" I turned and looked at my teacher. She smiled at me when I nodded. "I'll leave you both to your studies. I'll see you in school tomorrow." She turned her back to us, and walked out the library doors."  
  
"She showed up sooner then I expected." I muttered. Yaten yawned and leaned against me. I turned my head, and saw her smiling gently.   
  
"You did say I can do anything I wanted. So I'll take a nap, and you're my pillow." She wrapped her arms around me. "Or my teddy bear. Whichever you decide." I snickered. I didn't think thirteen-year-olds still slept with stuffed animals. Twenty minutes later, I found myself unable to concentrate. So I was tapping my pen on the paper, and absently twirling a lock of Yaten's hair around my finger. I think Yaten's rose perfuse was intoxicating my mental functioning. So now I came to the conclusion that I will never ever put on perfume in my life. I turned my head to look at her peaceful figures. Pale and smooth skin, long eyelashes, glossy lips. No wonder why she had so many friends.  
I sighed and looked up at the clock. My eyes widened. We've been here for 2 hours and I didn't get anything done. I shook Yaten lightly. "Oi. Yaten, it's 5 o'clock. We have to go." She muttered something that consisted of several curses and a "leave me alone". I shook her harder. "Isn't your mother going to wonder where you are?" She jerked up.  
  
"Kuso! Mama will get mad if I miss dinner!" I quickly packs my things, and grabbed Yaten's hand.  
  
"Let's go. My mom gets just as mad if I dare skip dinner." Yaten nodded. I walked fastly out of the library, dragging Yaten behind me, and once we got out, we ran for Yaten's house.  
  
"Why are you following me?!" I hated to admit the obvious.  
  
"I do the same thing for Seiya. I don't want you getting hurt on your way home, okay?" She smiled slightly, and we stopped running. I knew she hated running and sweat out of all the things in the world. We walked for a while in silence, and I briefly wondered if she was picking up this strange that feeling I had. I never really felt this feeling before in my life. My mother would always tell me a 'sweet, gently, tingly feeling' is love. And when I think of that now it's horrifying because I feel like that deep inside. "Taiki? Hello in there! Taiki! Come back to Kinmoku!" I blinked and shook my head.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"You can slow down. My house is just down the street a little more." She pointed to what looked was big enough to be a mansion.   
  
"Kami-sama… You can't say you live poorly!" I said in sheer astonishment. This girl was on the verge of being rich. She dragged me down the street and up to her doorstep.   
  
"Taiki, I'm sorry I was mean to you this morning. I didn't realize you're such a good person. You have a good heart." She smiled sweetly. "I hope the person you love can feel the same way about you someday." At that, she let go of my hand, opened the door to her house, and slowly shut it after a quick "Sayanora". I sighed, closed my eyes, turned around, and began walking down the sidewalk.  
  
"Sure… Someday… Does this mean someday you'll love me…?" I guess fate will decide that. It's amazing how fate can be cruel or loving.   
  
«Owari»  
  
How did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Tell me. ^^  



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